Hobbies And Interests
Peace
Whenever a school class is getting too noisy, make a peace sign and wait for the class to follow suit. Once a few individuals catch on, the rest will respond. A similar exercise can be done by giving thumbs down, and then gradually raise your thumb as the class quiets down. Once everyone is quiet, give the thumbs up. Other variations include the pouty face. When the class gets silent, you can smile.
Counting
In a classroom circle setting, you can utilize the counting game to focus your students. When the class gets too noisy, instruct them to count in order, with each student saying a number. This will get them to focus because they will have to communicate with eye contact with the rest of the class when they are about to say a number. No two students can say the same number, otherwise they will have to start again. They should begin to develop a pattern. For example, the counting progresses in a clockwise order. They can't use the same pattern as they did a previous time. This will require them to develop a new strategy without speaking, other than to say the number.
Opposites
When you need an individual child to focus, you can get his attention by playing a simple game that will get him to think. The opposites game requires you to say a word and get the child to say the opposite word back to you. For example, if you say "light," he should say "dark." After having completed a few opposites, he will be focused and ready to learn.
Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are a common game among children. It is a challenge for them to create sentences with the same sounds in each word. For example, say a tongue twister such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." Ask the child to see if she can repeat it three times. This will get the kid using her brain, and you will have her attention. She should be able to forget about whatever activity she was doing before.